Where does this come from, and can I check it?

The name is often explained by the hazards of the narrow passage between two rocky shores. The figure is taken from United Nations, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a world geography fact?

Yes. It sits on the World Geography shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

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The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Bab el-Mandeb means the Gate of Tears

The name is often explained by the hazards of the narrow passage between two rocky shores The strait links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and is about 26 kilometres wide at its narrowest, near Perim Island. Strong currents and reef-strewn water made it a feared passage for sailing ships. Everything moving between the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean passes through it. It sits in Mondo's world geography collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

United Nations

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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More facts like this

Astana has been renamed several timesThe Kazakh capital has carried at least four names since the Soviet period alone The Strait of Hormuz is about 39 kilometres wideIts two shipping lanes are each only about three kilometres across, separated by a buffer The Dover Strait is 33 kilometres wideThat short gap made the Channel Tunnel possible and keeps ferries busy today Magellan found a sea route past South AmericaBefore the Panama Canal opened, ships rounded South America through this 570 kilometre passage The Dardanelles has been a strategic waterway for millenniaThe 61 kilometre channel links the Aegean to the Sea of Marmara and is only a few kilometres wide The Torres Strait is shallow and full of reefsIt separates Cape York from New Guinea and is only about 150 kilometres across at its widest

Tags: straits, red-sea, names

Bab el-Mandeb means the Gate of Tears: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: The name is often explained by the hazards of the narrow passage between two rocky shores. The figure is taken from United Nations, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a world geography fact?: Yes. It sits on the World Geography shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.